Rick Rawes

Highlights

• New Year, New Challenges
• Blog post resuming every-other-week from Friday 23^rd January
• ‘til the End of the World first two short story drops on first post, Friday 23^rd January
• Sinners & Saints, book 4 of Heroes & Demons releasing Friday 3^rd July, 2026
• Echo, the last New Knights solo novel releasing October 2026

Introduction

So the new year is upon us (or currently scrambling back to the safety of the side of the road in our rearview mirror) and here we are with an opportunity for a brand new start. This time of year is also the perfect time for reflection, as the quieter winter months allow us to huddle round in the warmth and light of our homes, telling each other stories of better days to keep away the gloom. Dickensian, yes. For those of you want a quick recap you can see the highlights above, but for anyone who wants a little more of a wandering tale, get yourself a brew, sit by the firelight and come with me for a little peek out into the gloom – and to the worlds beyond it.

A New Year Reflection

Well my reflection begins here – why do I write? To answer that question, I need to go to an even more fundamental human question – what is the meaning of life? No, no, bear with. I’m not being dramatic (okay, maybe a little dramatic) or pretentious (okay, maybe a little pretentious). To understand why I write comes back to some of the things I was going to discuss in a December blog post on the spiritual and cosmological viewpoint of my books.

A common thread through many of the stories is that of agency, of control and free will. The universe may have plans, it may be alive, it may not be. There may be a God or deity beyond time and space that has seen it all happen with a wry knowing grin. There may not. You could go into the Beyond and simply see a sign saying ‘Welcome to Level 2’. Who knows?

But that is the point. Who knows? Who can know? And therefore, if the meaning of life eludes us, then it is the same as it having no meaning. Nothing inherent in our ego makes it significant in a universe 13 billion times older and stranger than each of us. In the end the only meaning our lives have is that they exist. They exist because they do, because they are. The only meaning of life is that we live it, we move, we grow, we change. We do anything to avoid being stagnant. To give life it’s meaning by doing something with it, to honour it. That’s why I write.

You might say that it boils down to a really fancy shmancy way of saying I write to have something to do. It goes a little beyond that, but that’s essentially true in a manner of speaking. I write because it is something I that gives me great pleasure to do so. I write sometimes to make a world and a universe that makes sense to me, with ideas and thoughts which show the best and worst of ourselves. I write to be in motion, to be shaping and changing a world at the tips of my fingers. In a world where I have little control, where things like cancer, psychotic world leaders, microscopic viruses and neo-Nazi thugs give little shit about me and my family, writing is a way to control a world. To know how it ends.

God, that’s a heck of a psychological truth isn’t it? Writing is a form of narcissism. A kind of God-like puppet mastery, an almost Freudian defence mechanism. But it’s also something to share. It’s a communication. Since the days of people sat around a campfire telling tales about the sun and the moon falling in love, we’ve told each other stories. They’re how we make the world make sense. So, even if it is a brain trying to impose order on a chaotic world, it’s nothing new – nor do I believe is it anything bad. It’s a pleasure, a pastime, a tradition. It’s waking up and saying to someone, come with me for a little while and see this world that’s safer than this one, that’s contained with pages and unbound in your imagination – and can take you away from the darkness around you. It is the campfire, the warmth and the camaraderie. And in that there is meaning.

I struggle with people, I’ll freely admit, and I’m okay with that. It’s probably one of the reasons I find the social media and marketing side of independent publishing so incredibly daunting. Reach out, communicate, interact. Historically that hasn’t gone so well. And yet…that’s exactly what I am doing. By writing, by sharing. And when people read, when people enjoy, and when they share that enjoyment, it gives me joy. And that is why I write. I may not be able to garner a million followers by understanding how to arrange my hashtags or put together a TikTok promotional advert. I may not be able to change the ills of the world. But I can sit by that campfire, I can tell you a story, and I can keep the darkness at bay for that little bit of a while.

So, in 2026, that’s what I’m going to do.

Coming Next

And with that in mind, here’s what I’m building this year.

First off, there is a regular schedule for the next six months of blog posts, covering a whole range of topics and themes. These will drop on Fridays – roughly one every two weeks. The next will be on Friday 23^rd January, 2026, and will focus on the launch of ‘til the End of the World.

Speaking of ‘til the End of the World, this young-adult skewed supernatural series, a throwback to the days of Buffy, Vampire Diaries and Skins, is launching on Friday 23^rd January, 2026 with a double bill. The two short-stories comprising an opening ‘two-partner’ entitled Stand By Me – Part 1 and Stand By Me – Part 2 will be available for free from that date. You can download them in PDF form, or EPUB depending on your preferred reader. These short stories will form an ongoing episodic series, set around the autumn of 2005, and will show a corner of the Rawesian universe that hasn’t really been seen before.

Coming in the first few months of the year, Avalon, Avalon: Faerie Tales and Proud Marys will be brought back in paperback form, with fresh new covers and ready to be added to the shelf. This will mean for the first time in several years, all Rick Rawes novels will be available in both eBook and Print. Similarly, I’ll be exploring ways to deliver eBooks and Paperbacks directly through this site, as well as in other online marketplaces.

The two major upcoming releases this year will have several teases throughout the next few months, with plenty of surprises and reveals along the way. Sinners & Saints, the fourth and penultimate story of the Heroes & Demons series, will soon be available to pre-order, with a release date of Friday 3^rd July, 2026. Echo, the final standalone novel in the New Knights Saga, will also have more details revealed as we go further, releasing in October 2026.

Thanks for Listening

There you go, that’s my update, my reflection. That’s where I’m at right now, and where things are going. Along the way you can help. If you’ve read something, please rate or review – either through their respective pages on Amazon or on Goodreads. It does help me to know not only has someone enjoyed themselves, but really does help others consider reading them. Share perhaps with your friends, or make a recommendation to fellow readers. That is far more priceless and valuable than my clumsy attempts at advertising.

If there’s something you like the sound of – have a look at the pages for the Heroes & Demons Series, the New Knights Saga or the Rest of the Rainbow and see if there’s anything else that takes your fancy. Give us a follow or a like on Instagram (@RickRawesHD) or Facebook (Rick Rawes Author), and if you do pop along, say hi. Let me know you’re there, let me know your own story.

Let me know if you want to sit by the fire with me for a bit. And maybe tell me if you’d like to hear a story.

In that, there is meaning.

Rick Rawes
16^th January, 2026
Leeds, West Yorkshire